Satellite Equipment Maker ViaSat buying Wild Blue

By Dena Cassella
October 01, 2009

Wild Blue Communications Inc. will become an operating subsidiary of satellite equipment maker ViaSat.

ViaSat Inc. is acquiring Wild Blue Communications Inc., a provider of high-speed Internet access via satellite, for $568 million in cash and stock, the companies said Thursday.

Privately held Wild Blue, in which Liberty Media Corp. holds a 37 percent stake, will become an operating subsidiary of ViaSat, which makes satellite communications equipment for defense and consumer markets.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based ViaSat plans to buy Wild Blue for $443 million in cash and $125 million in new common stock. Liberty Media, controlled by media mogul John Malone, will appoint a representative to ViaSat's board. Mark Carleton, senior vice president at Liberty, is Wild Blue's chairman.

ViaSat is planning to launch a satellite in the first quarter of 2011 that will enable Wild Blue to offer speeds of 2 Megabits per second to 8 Megabits ...

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